One Last Time
by ArtemisFowl43
Summary: When Percy, Thalia, and Annabeth are sent on a quest to save Annabeth's father from the Titans, everything goes wrong. Annabeth and Percy get captured, and in order to save themselves, Percy is forced to fight to the death. Rated T for character deaths.
1. Someone dies while running away

A/N: Just a little songfic for all those who wonder what happens in the minds of a certain demigod…

**A/N: Just a little songfic for all those who wonder what happens in the minds of a certain demigod…**

**Disclaimer: Unfortunately, I do not own the PJO series or Nickelback. If I did, I would have some inkling of what is going on in the series…**

**One Last Time**

**By Xander O'Shana**

My thoughts were focused on one thing. Running. Running from the Titans who wanted to kill me, then rip my body into little tiny pieces, and throw said pieces into the River Styx.

My thoughts… need to shut up.

Thalia ran behind me, which was actually pretty cool because I can't run faster than a turtle. I know, depressing, isn't it? Annabeth was gone, trying to get to her dad, the one _They _were holding prisoner. Me and Thalia were the decoys. Yep, you got it. We were the ones that usually get themselves killed at the end.

"Oi! Perce! Pull yourself together, and get your little butt over here!" Thalia yelled. She was standing by an air vent that stood straight up out of the ground. The cover was bent so out of shape, that two skinny teenagers could definitely squeeze through and hide for a bit.

"Look out!" Before I could turn around, a manticore spike suddenly sprouted from my left shoulder, pinning me face-first into the vent. Another spike hit Thalia in the chest.

"NO! THALIA!" I cried out, trying to reach out to her. She looked at me, a bit dazed, before she crumpled to the ground. I went crazy right there, trying to pull myself free and get to her. For some reason, my numb mind couldn't accept the fact that she was dead. _She isn't coming back. So why am I still trying?_ I felt hot tears escaping my eyes, running down my cheeks. "Thalia… Please… Don't go…" Someone came up behind me, and put a comforting hand on the top of my head. I could tell it was Luke, the guy we needed to defeat, but my body gave out on me, and I sagged against him.

"There, there. Everything will be alright," he said quietly. Then he slammed my head into the vent, and everything went black.

XoxoX

I woke up with my hands clamped above my head in manacles. My mind was still numb, but if I closed my eyes when I tried to go to sleep, I kept seeing her. Thalia, her previously lifefull body, crumpling to the hard-packed ground. Why didn't Zeus save her this time? Was she no longer needed? Or was it too fast for him to even try?

A clanking noise drew my attention to the cell door. Luke was outside, with three of his skeleton warriors. I looked up at him with dull eyes, one of them surrounded by dried blood from where he shoved me into the vent. He was grinning.

"Why… why are you so happy?" I asked him in a whisper. Luke nodded towards two of the warriors, and as they unlocked me, they bumped hard against my manticore wound. I winced, because I didn't have the strength to cry out. But, it hurt so bad that I blacked out again. As my world faded, I heard his reply.

"You get to fight to the death…"

_Prison gates won't open up for me_

_On these hands and knees I'm crawlin'_

_Oh, I reach for you_

_Well I'm terrified of these four walls_

_These iron bars can't hold my soul in_

_All I need is you_

_Come please I'm callin'_

_And oh I scream for you_

_Hurry I'm fallin', I'm fallin'._


	2. I get a killer sword, Literally!

A/N: Just so you know, the song I set this to is Savin' Me by Nickelback

**A/N: Just so you know, the song I set this to is Savin' Me by Nickelback. Check out the music video, it's pretty deep. Also, I decided that Percy doesn't have Riptide. Luke took Riptide away when Percy got captured.**

**One Last Time**

**By Xander O'Shana**

I woke up in a new building. I could tell it was new because it had the latest in security and the walls were… well… modern-looking. To be brutally honest, I was really getting tired of waking up in weird places. Then I remembered what Luke had said to me as I passed out.

_"You get to fight to the death…"_ Fight who? His stupid skeletons? Those things were too easy. They fall apart if you hit them in the right eyesocket. No, it wouldn't be them.

While I was trying to decipher his parting words, a minotaur showed up at the door. He roughly grabbed my right arm, which was unchained, and pulled me to my feet. I swayed a bit, considering the fact that I almost bled out from that STUPID MANTICORE WOUND! The half bull-half man thing looked me up and down, then nodded. Grunting, he told a cloaked figure behind him, "He is fit to fight, Your Titanship, sire."

The figure nodded, then replied, "Thank you Ssibylliss. I will take over from here." The person hissed as the minotaur walked by him. Then the cloak turned to me. "Are you weak, boy?" I nodded, feeling as if I was going to throw up if I actually _said _anything. "I have water here. Do you want it? It will heal you temorarily." I nodded again. Jeez, how many times do people _nod _here?

The figure pulled a withered hand out, holding a single bottle of Dasani. He then threw it to me, but before I could catch it, the water burst out. Smiling, I told the water to hover over my wound, and then sink into it. As it did so, I felt relief. Or, at least I _did_, until the figure spoke again.

"Chosse your weapon, boy." He produced at least ten daggers, two swords, five shields, nine sets of twenty throwing stars, and three things that looked like fans. I immediately reached for the stars, thinking that I would stop any opponents before they got too close, but then my hand was drawn to the largest sword. It was just my size, and the blade was an odd shade of wavy blue and green.

_Yes, I need you. Take me, Son of Poseidon, and claim your rightful place as lord of the seas._

I withdrew my hand, and looked at the daggers. They were wavering a bit, as if they were only illusions. When I reached out my hand again, it went through the other weapons. Finally, I took the blade that had called me "lord of the seas."

The walls disappeared, and suddenly, I was in an arena. The figure was standing behind Luke, and seated next to Luke was… Annabeth? She looked down at me with dull eyes, as if whe wasn't at all there. Annabeth was wearing a gown of pure white, with her hair pulled up by an elaborate silver crown. At her throat was a beautiful silver chain with an owl on it.

Luke stood up, addressing the crowd of skeletons. I'm not kidding. He was so pathetic that he needed to waste power like this. "Hello everyone! Today, we have a special hero to entertain us! Please welcome, Perseus Jackson!" The crowd, surprisingly, went wild.

A young boy walked out of the opposite corner, and three others came out from behind me. "And… BEGIN!" Luke yelled.

The young boy charged at me straight off, swinging his shoddy blade wildly. I slashed at his knees, not wanting to kill him, but of its own accord, my hand moved upwards until he was impaled on the tip. His eyes widened, then dimmed, as his soul fled his body. Another boy came at me from behind, but I swept the boy around on my sword so that he hit the other boy with a sickening crunch. _No. _I thought. _I- I can't be killing them. That would make me like… like the people I'm trying to stop. _The last boy tried to back off, but for every step he took, I took two. When I had him up against the arena wall, I looked him in the eyes, trying to apologize for what I knew that the sword would make me do. He shook his head, pleading for me to let him live, but somehow, the sword had pushed me into a corner of my mind, powerless to do anything but watch… and cry. I put one hand on the wall beside his head, and ran him through. A tear escaped my eye, and then I collapsed, finally released from the sword's spell.

One of the boys had died when he stabbed himself, trying to escape from me, the monster. Looking around, I saw that all of the boys that had fought against me had died. Their eyes were open, and they had shocked expressions on their faces, as if they didn't think I would kill them.

A clapping sound interrupted my thoughts. I looked up, and saw that Annabeth was clapping. She was smiling, and it wasn't her usual smile. It was one of a person gone mad.

At that moment, I resolved to get the two of us out of here. Even if it cost me my life, I would save her.

_Show me what it's like_

_To be the last one standing_

_And teach me wrong from right_

_And I'll show you what I can be_

_Say it for me_

_Say it to me_

_And I'll leave this life behind me_

_Say it if it's worth saving me._


	3. Mind dead Annabeth pays me a visit

A/N: Just a quick question for all of my readers

**A/N: Just a quick question for all of my readers. Do you want a quick look at Luke's POV, or do you want me to keep going with Percy? If you'd let me know, that'd be nice. Thanx!**

**One Last Time**

**By Xander O'Shana**

After I had killed all of those boys, I was magically transported back to my original cell. Yup, the one with the chains and the damp, and the weird bricks. That cell.

A knock on the door surprised me. Usually, it was the guard (a skeleton, no surprise there) or Luke and that weird cloaked figure barging in. No one cares to knock in a dungeon. I looked up, then stupidly tried to run to the door. After getting yanked backwards by the too short chains, I stood up.

It was Annabeth. She was wearing a blue gown this time, with gold jewellry. Her usually stormy grey eyes were still dulled by whatever Luke or his minions had done to her. She smiled evilly.

"Thank you for the entertainment. I did not think that a boy of your stature would do so well his first fight. Too bad for you, I do not like surprises. You are scheduled to be terminated in the morning," she said calmly, then turned around and left.

"Annabeth! What are you doing?! It's Percy! The guy that went on quests with you, helped you with your family… Who _loves_ you!" I cried at her retreating back. She kept walking away as if she didn't hear me.

I fell against the wall, and thought about two things. One was how she'd changed. Did Luke put a spell on her? Was she still there, or was it someone else in her body? Did she care that I was going to die? The second thing was about the "termination" I was scheduled for in the morning. I didn't know how much time there was left, but I was determined _not _to die.

What if I fake being dead? That might work…

XoxoX

**A/N: Sorry it's so short, but its 7:00 in the morning, and I need breakfast. Also, sorry for not putting the song in, but the parts don't fit with this part of the story at the moment. Thanks for all you readers out there for hanging in there while I write this!**


	4. My plan goes bad Really bad

A/N: I'm really sorry this has been so late

**A/N: I'm really sorry this has been so late!! Things have been really crazy lately… Sorry…**

**One Last Time**

**By Xander O'Shana**

After a couple of hours, (at least, I think it was, have no way of telling time in here…) my "plan" was ready. I say "plan", because, to be honest, I really don't think it's going to work. It all hinges on the proper reaction from Luke and Annabeth. Uh-hunh. It all depends on them. Lovely.

Anyways, I digress.

I looked up to make sure that there was someone… or something… alright, there's a skeleton. That counts, right? Then, "accidentelly" I started scratching the remaider of the scab on my shoulder to reopen the wound. I winced, cause it really hurts when you do that. I'm pretty sure all of you out there know what I'm talking about, right? Anyways, the wound started bleeding again, and I had to do something really gross with it. For all of you who are REALLY squeamish, turn away NOW. I'm not kidding. Okay, on with the story.

I took some of my blood in my cupped hands, and drank it, but I couldn't swallow just yet. Grimacing, I smeared the rest of the blood around on my chest, trying to make it seem as if I was dead. Here comes the first part…

I screamed, attracting the attention of the guard outside. He/she/it yelled something unintelligible to something in the hallway outside, and large footsteps were heard running to my cell. I lay down, holding my breath, and let some of the blood in my mouth trickle out, staining my cheeks. The door opened, and someone gasped loudly.

"Oh gods…" It was Luke, lucky me. He bent down over me, moving my hair out of my face and unchaining me. It took almost all of my willpower not to jump up right then and there and stab him. He placed a hand on my heart, and that's when the plan fell apart. His eyes widened, and then I knew he was going to rat me out. That bastard.

I sat up, and hit the wall beside me with a fist. It fell apart, brick by weird brick, thanks to me spending the night before digging the mortar out of a Percy-sized area, and knocking a couple bricks loose too. Luke reached for his weapon, but then noticed something over my shoulder as I backed up. He smirked, holding out one hand, as if to say, "_Let him go."_

I stood up slowly, starting to back up. "It's been nice, Luke, but I have to go now." Then I turned around and stopped, seeing what Luke had been smirking at. The view that greeted me was the outside of Mount Tam, complete with rocks, boulders, and smoking vents. And the wall ended in a ledge, with nothing below it for about 50 feet. Great…

"Well? Are you leaving or what?" Luke asked, still smirking, before slightly shrugging and stepping up to me. Then, before I could protest, he shoved me off the ledge.

And you know what? Right before I fell, I swear, I saw Annabeth, smiling at the door.

"ANNABETH!!"

_Heaven's gates won't open up for me_

_With these broken wings I'm fallin'_

_And all I see is you_

_These city walls ain't got no love for me_

_I'm on the ledge of the eighteenth story_

_And oh, I scream for you_

_Come please, I'm callin'_

_And all I need from you_

_Hurry I'm fallin', I'm fallin'_


	5. My heart breaks

A/N: Oh my god… The first time I've had to do this… If you like Percy or Annabeth, you might not want to read this

**A/N: Oh my god… The first time I've had to do this… If you like Percy or Annabeth, you might not want to read this. Or the rest of the story. I actually cried, writing this…**

**One Last Time**

**By Xander O'Shana**

_"ANNABETH!"_

So there I was, falling 50 feet, down to the rocky surface of Mount Tam. I'd love to tell you that I was able to save myself by somehow coming up with a rope or something, but unfortunately dear reader, I didn't. I couldn't really. If you honestly thought I could have, you've seen too many Indiana Jones movies.

I digress. Again.

Really, the only thought I had was, _I couldn't help her…_ That single thought was going through my head as I fell, screaming her name.

The ground was rushing up to meet me, too fast. _Too fast._ I wasn't going to survive this. Not like Luke did. I didn't have a power-hungry Titan waiting to take over my body. Although, that couldn't technically be considered- THUNK.

I'm not kidding, that's the sound I made when I hit the ground. Then I began rolling for another 50 feet, almost. A boulder stopped me, and by then, I was numb. I knew I was dying, because I couldn't see, I couldn't _feel _anything. Actually, that's not true. I was crying, tears running down my face.

My breathing was slowing, and so was my heartbeat, when I heard one last thing.

"PERCY!" It was Annabeth, most likely free of whatever Luke had done to her. More tears fell down my face, and I swear, I heard my heart break. _She's free, _I thought, _You can let go now…_

"Annabeth…" was all I could get out before I spiralled into darkness.

_Hurry, I'm fallin'_

_All I need is you_

_Come please, I'm callin'_

_And oh, I scream for you_

_Hurry I'm fallin', I'm fallin', I'm fallin'_

_Hurry, I'm fallin'…_


End file.
